ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Michigan football is coming off its most impressive win of the season at Nebraska, and most fans are expecting something similar against Minnesota.
The Wolverines are undefeated after winning their first five games by an average of 28.4 points. No opponent has surpassed seven points, and the first-string defense has only allowed one touchdown.
There’s no question this has been one of the most dominant teams in the country, but because of the competition, we don’t know just how good Michigan really is yet.
Rutgers and UNLV are 4-1, but nobody’s buying them as legitimate top-25 teams. Bowling Green blew out Georgia Tech this weekend, but has also lost to Liberty and Ohio. East Carolina and Nebraska are just bad.
So while we all think the Wolverines are national championship contenders, we won’t know for sure until November (unless they lose before then, of course).
On Saturday, Michigan will travel to Minnesota for a second-straight Big Ten road game. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., which should create a hostile environment in what has become a fringe rivalry for the Little Brown Jug.
Is there anything to worry about?
Big Ten road games can never be taken for granted, but considering what Michigan just did to Nebraska, it might be hard for fans to muster up much concern.
Passing attack
After five seasons with Tanner Morgan under center, P.J. Fleck’s team is now led by sophomore Athan Kaliakmanis. In the first five games, he’s thrown for 745 yards, five touchdowns, and four interceptions. His 58.7% completion rate and 6.2 yards per pass are both below average.
Kaliakmanis is a threat to run -- on 25 carries, he’s gained 114 yards and scored two touchdowns.
His stats remind me of Heinrich Haarberg, a quarterback Michigan just held to 14-of-25 for 199 yards and an interception.
Minnesota has been one of the worst passing teams in the nation, averaging just 6.1 yards per attempt and 149 yards per game. Iowa (obviously) is the only Power Five team that ranks behind Minnesota in both.
Daniel Jackson leads the team with 20 catches, 252 receiving yards, and four receiving touchdowns. Corey Crooms Jr. ranks second with 19 catches for 227 yards.
Rushing attack
The Golden Gophers have been quite a bit better running the ball, averaging 4.71 yards per carry.
Darius Taylor is the most dangerous player on the team, averaging 6.1 yards per carry and 9.3 yards per catch. He was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week three times in a row while racking up 529 rushing yards and four touchdowns against Eastern Michigan, North Carolina, and Northwestern.
Taylor didn’t play against Louisiana due to injury this weekend, and the duo of Zach Evans and Bryce Williams stepped in to combine for 138 yards and two scores.
Clearly, Minnesota can run the football no matter who’s in the backfield.
Michigan has been solid against the rush, allowing 3.11 yards per carry -- 27th in the country. This will be the front seven’s greatest test to date.
Defense
Michigan should be able to run the ball against a Minnesota team that allows 4.18 yards per carry. Last week, Nebraska’s top-ranked rushing defense allowed the Wolverines to gain 249 yards and score three touchdowns on 51 carries.
The Gophers haven’t been great defending the pass, either, allowing 7.6 yards per attempt. They do rank third in the country with eight interceptions, though.
Tyler Nubin (3) and Jack Henderson (2) have combined for five picks through five games. Other than that wacky Bowling Green game, J.J. McCarthy hasn’t turned the ball over this season. He’ll need to keep that up, because turnovers are Minnesota’s best route to an upset.
Look out for Danny Striggow and Kyler Baugh along Minnesota’s defensive line. They’ve combined for 5.5 sacks and 42 tackles.
Conclusion
Any Big Ten team can pull an upset at home -- even Northwestern was tied with Penn State at halftime over the weekend.
Still, the Wolverines would need to make a lot of mistakes to lose this game. They lost focus against Bowling Green a few weeks ago, and if that happens again, Minnesota could certainly take advantage.
But if the surgical, focused Michigan team that we saw at Nebraska shows up again, it will leave Minneapolis a comfortable 6-0.
